BoingBoing links to a bare press release about a study by sociologists at George Mason University and North Carolina State that “concludes that unmarried couples that live together divide housework more evenly than married couples.” From the press release:

Couples with an egalitarian view on gender–seeing men and women as equal–are more likely to divide the household chores equally. However, in married relationships, even if an egalitarian viewpoint is present, men still report doing less housework than their wives.

“Marriage as an institution seems to have a traditionalizing effect on couples–even couples who see men and women as equal,” says Davis.

The obvious question — and I haven’t read the full study — is: is marriage the cause, or does it just correlate? Commenters raise this and other methodological questions.

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